An uncommonly clever, insightful, and funny voice of reason* in all this multiple sclerosis silliness

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Be Alert to Other Monsters

I have an uncanny knack of hurting myself in
bizarre ways. A month ago I dorked it up and broke my pinky toe on a closet doorjamb
rushing to get a bathrobe so I wouldn’t have to answer the doorbell naked. That
got me wondering… What could I do to top that? I pride myself on being an
overachiever, going the extra mile. When I do something, I do it right. So the
other day, at 4:21 a.m. (give or take), I rolled over to my wife, who was sound
asleep like an angel resting on a bed of clouds, and cooed into her ear
something to the effect of “Honey, there is a chance I am having a heart
attack.”

That’s perhaps the last thing you want to say to
your spouse at 4:21 in the morning. Those heavenly sleepy clouds dissipated in
a hurry and my angel was now propped up in bed with frazzled hair, big eyes and
a suspicious crooked eyebrow. But I felt I really didn’t have a choice. I woke
up ten minutes earlier with uncomfortable chest pain and difficulty breathing. It
didn’t feel like an MS hug and it couldn’t be a heart attack, could it? I mean,
I exercise vigorously every day, I’m only 44, and there is no family history.
So naturally I did the first thing one always does in a potential medical
crisis. I Googled it. And what did Google tell me? Stop Googling, you idiot,
and call 911.

Our house is less than five minutes away from the
nearest hospital—we could drive there quicker than most ambulances could even get
to our home. So the two of us hustled to get dressed (I carefully avoided
doorjambs) and soon we were in the ER surrounded by doctors and nurses. It’s
amazing how fast the medical staff works when you complain of chest pains. And
my first doc didn’t dim my concerns. “I’ve had a few cases like yours where I
would have bet the house there was no heart attack, but the tests came back
shockingly positive. Or it could be gas.”

Did I wake up Laura at 4:21 a.m. and have her
drive me to the emergency room because of some digestive issues? Now I was
doubly scared. But when some liquid concoction I swallowed didn’t help matters,
an overactive colon seemed unlikely. We were stuck waiting for the required six
hours before a blood test could rule out a mild heart attack. Another doctor
had other suspicions.

“What did you do yesterday?” I just exercised, I
told him. Tried some new stuff. Lots of twisting with heavy weights. “Hmm. You
strained your chest. When the test comes back negative you can go home. Take it
easy for the next few days.” The paper he handed me described my issue
perfectly. “A strain of the chest is due to stretching and tearing of the
muscle fibers between the ribs. This may occur as a result of strenuous lifting
or twisting injuries of the upper back. This usually causes increased pain with
movement or deep breathing.”

Mission accomplished! I
dorked it up to an entirely new level, surprising even myself. But seriously, there
is a lesson to be learned here. When you have multiple sclerosis, it’s easy to
attribute every symptom to your disease… and then ignore it or push past it.
The reality, though, is that we are not immune to life’s other maladies. Don’t
ignore or overlook symptoms. It could mean life or death—catching a cancer
early or a stroke before it does permanent damage. Or it could just be some mad
gas or a textbook case of dorkness.

6 comments:

It is amazing isn't it to see how quickly ER staff get things in motion when you say the words, "chest pain."

When I was first diagnosed, everything that hurt was MS. It eventually occurred to me that there was a time in my life when my body didn't know it had MS. There's a lot of stuff going on in there that needs my time and attention! So MS just has to share!

This is my problem, too! When I turned 40 last year, MS decided to join me in my mid-life crises. I tend to dismiss as MS-related anything that happens on my left half of my body, where MS is affecting me. This is a good reminder for us all that MS is definitely not alone.

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About the Blog

This is the official blog of ActiveMSers, which is designed to help, motivate, and inspire those with multiple sclerosis to stay as active as possible—physically, intellectually, and socially—regardless of physical limitations. It is written by founder Dave Bexfield and was started in 2006. Topics include: getting diagnosed, dealing with symptoms, staying active, and hope. Laughter is always encouraged.

About Me

For better or worse, I’ve learned a lot about handling this disease (um, more than many) since I was diagnosed in ’06. And I’ve written about that experience here, where I take a personal look at MS … with a tilted head, raised eyebrow, and a cracked smile. It may be just what the doc ordered when you want an escape from the oh-so-serious world that is multiple sclerosis. (To read more about me, click the About Dave on the left of my blog home page.)